14 lawmakers from 3rd poorest region multimillionaires

CATBALOGAN CITY, Philippines – All the 14 members of the House of Representatives from Eastern Visayas, the third poorest region in the country, are multimillionaires, according to the 2012 statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) submitted by the lawmakers.

In their 2012 SALN, posted recently by the Samar News online edition, Leyte 1st District Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez is the richest among congressmen in Eastern Visayas with a net worth of P474,181,702.59. He is also the 6th richest among the 278 members of the House.

The second richest lawmaker in the region is celebrity-turned-politician Leyte 4th District Rep. Lucy Marie Torres-Gomez, whose 2012 SALN showed her net worth of P179,603,299.40. She ranks 13th among the wealthiest in the House.

Southern Leyte Rep. Roger Mercado, who is the 77th richest congressman in the country, was listed third in the region with a net worth of P46,700,000.

Rep. Sergio Apostol of Leyte’s 2nd District is worth P45,134,950, the region’s fourth richest lawmaker and the 81st richest in the House.

Eastern Samar Rep. Ben Evardone reported his net worth as P40,213,610. He is the region’s 5th richest and the 88th wealthiest member of the House.

In 6th place is Northern Samar 1st district Rep. Raul Daza with P37,848,590 net worth, while Samar’s 2nd District Rep. Milagrosa Tan is worth P32,406,720, ranked 7th in the region and 107th richest in the House.

An Waray party-list Reps. Neil Benedict Montejo and Florencio Noel emerged as the region’s 8th and 9th richest congressmen with a net worth of P17,790,000 and 15,005,000, respectively. Montejo ranks 167th in the House while Noel is 186th.

Leyte 3rd District Rep. Andres Salvacion had a net worth of P14,300,000, the region’s 10th richest lawmaker and the country’s 195th.

The 11th richest Rep. Emil Ong (Northern Samar 2nd) reported a net worth of P12,260,250.25, the country’s 203rd richest congressman. Following Northern Samar’s political kingpin is Rep. Jose Carlos Cari with a net worth of P11,921,420. He is the region’s 12th and the country’s 208th richest among House members.

The region’s poorest congressman is also a millionaire. Samar 1st District Rep. Mel Senen Sarmiento had a net worth of P3,000,741.84. He ranked 264th in the House.